More of the same but very different AMA. Ask me about Islam

[therealcookiemonster]

Hi guys, I noticed there have been few recent AMAs about being Muslim which have fallen on their faces for different reasons and I thought I would try something different. instead of publicly posting questions, I am inviting anyone with questions about Islam to PM me. I am suggesting this to avoid anyone feeling awkward about appearing 'insensitive' and also the ego battles that often happen on these threads. I promise to answer all your questions and I will do so by PM, so it will be more like a real life conversation with a Muslim person you know. I am a bit busy during the day so please bear with me as I respond.

I also did a normal AMA some time ago (changed my name since then as cookie monster really suits me as a name)... here is the link. quite a few of the common questions are answered here. if you don't wish to engage via PM, you are welcome to post on my old thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/4818978-im-a-practising-muslim-ask-me-anything

for background, I am a late 30s practising British Bangladeshi Muslim female. although far from perfectly practising. I belong to the sunni sufi denomination broadly but explored other religions before coming to this. I am a medical professional during the day (and night sometimes) and am left leaning politically.

don't worry about offending me, ask away!

Thank you again. What a lovely quote about the best of you. All people of all religions could do well to follow!
If I was to invite the little one for tea, are there any rules I would need to follow. I see you mention vegetarian. Anything else? X

and you don't think it's at all rude to come onto a strangers thread and call them presumptuous and arrogant?

do you also stop passers by and give feedback on their personalities? perhaps you should? would make a great YouTube channel...

I am so sorry! I shouldn't have assumed! I agree with you 100%. live and let live but also to try and learn about and understand each other.

@sadgrizzly very lovely that you want to invite her for tea. I think as long as its vegetarian and alcohol free, it's all good. fish is fine too. a lot of things contain gelatine, lard or chicken stock - so I would check the ingredients and ensure things are prepped separately. as you would if you are making something for a vegan I guess I.e. different utensils etc. might be easier to just order something from outside or use shop bought cakes etc. to save yourself the hassle :-)

I want to know why it's acceptable to cruelly slaughter animals in the name of religion?

Oh the irony! There are certainly some presumptive, arrogant people on this thread, but OP isn’t one of them.

So you object to Muslims using the AMA function as it’s meant to be used. Is there anything else you begrudge Muslims?

The way to stop the hate against Islam, Judaism, Christianity and indeed any other religion is to learn about them.

I'm an atheist but I will ask people things if there's a gap in my knowledge. I work with many Muslims and if I want to know something I ask about it. Most people are happy to talk about their faith.

We have been indoctrinated to hate Islam and not without some foundation but all most people have are what they're told. Visit a mosque, talk to your local imam, find out. Being Muslim does not mean you are Islamist. There's very much a difference, from what I've been told.

no kind of animal cruelty is permitted in Islam. we are not even permitted to cut trees unnecessarily. the rules of halal slaughter are extremely strict - the animal must have been raised well, never hurt or treated badly. they cannot be slaughtered if pregnant or in front of other animals. they should be soothed prior to slaughter and the cut to the internal and external carotid must be done in one swift stroke with a very sharp blade. it should only be performed by someone who is trained. that is far more humane than what happens in abattoirs (I recommend you watch the documentary beastly business). the loss of blood supply to the brain causes the animal to lose consciousness immediately to minimise suffering.

Muslims are also advised by the Prophet (pbuh) to only eat meat in small amounts.

sadly if we really look at halal slaughter in this country - it is not really done properly. I know some Muslims who only eat the meat if they know the person who does the slaughtering.

no one who believes in God (be it Muslim or any other religion) has no business being cruel to His Creation.

I was horrified by the thread yesterday and voiced it on that thread. One of my closest friends is a very devout Muslim so I certainly wasn't trying to go after anyone but that OPs views horrified me personally. I think these threads or offers to answer questions aren't the greatest idea as they take a single persons interpretation of their topic and present it as a given.

Can I ask a question about dogs, if you don't mind OP?

Do any Muslims have pet dogs in your experience ?
Dogs are such wonderful human companions imo.
I know the theory about dog saliva etc and certainly dog-bites are bacteria-ridden but so are any type of animal /human bite.

OP I read your information about Eid with interest, thank you!

I'm fascinated by the lunar calendar - I may have this completely wrong, but I understand that each month starts when a crescent moon is seen after the new moon? So the actual date of Eid (or even the first day of any month?) isn't definite until the moon is actually seen, and that if it's obscured / cloudy then it's not considered 'seen' even though we know it's there?

Assuming I've got that approximately right, I was wondering how local does the 'seeing' have to be? Is it by country? Or continent? Or something else? Does it have to be a particular person who sees it, for it to be officially seen?

Does a discrepancy between the moon being seen in 2 places mean that they will have a different date for the rest of the month? So if it's seen in America today, but here tomorrow because of cloud, then will America be ahead of us by 1 day for the rest of the month?

Sorry if I've fundamentally misunderstood something somewhere!

That poster had a tenuous grip on English history and presented it as fact. I think we all moved on from that now. Thanks 🙏

a lot of Muslims have dogs but tend to keep them outside... so they are more common in warmer countries. we just have to wash if in contact with them but they are not forbidden! I had a few growing up... sadly my last one was poisoned by a burglar and passed away :-( it was too awful. I can't ever have one again.

@AcclimDD I haven't had time to read this whole thread but credit to the OP for getting this one back on track!

I’ve had a quick look at your first AMA thread and I can only say how much I admire your patience, Allahumabarik. I doubt some of the questions were coming from a place of genuine curiosity but love how you took the time to answer so many in great detail.

If you ask with decency and manners then of course it’s not racist etc. this is how we learn about each other through positive education and sharing experiences. Unfortunately the other thread became quite aggressive and rude. They weren’t asking questions but targeting hatred towards the op and her religion

haha you have broached the most sensitive topic of all. every year, this turns into a big debate. some scholars will say that they only accept local moon sightings. the majority opinion is that as long there is a credible sighting anywhere, its acceptable. scholars also look at data from NASA and the angles of moon rising etc. you are absolutely correct that we do not know the day of eid until the moon sighting date. if it is not sighted then we fast one more day (the month cannot be longer than 30 days)

@Aswad thank you for being so kind :-)

so do you think the AMA section should be closed down altogether? I see your point but it is very user dependent... I am trying to provide a slightly broader view than my personal viewpoint, but I appreciate it can be limited.

@therealcookiemonster in reality no, not closed down. It can just be a bit if a danger zone if the OP expresses what I would call 'outlier' views.

@GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut ps I love the Terry pratchett reference in your username

@therealcookiemonster no question but I’m so sorry about your dog :(

I also just wanted to pass on my best wishes to you at this time of increased Islamophobic (and anti semitic) hate crime. I won’t ask your views on the Middle East as I certainly don’t want to derail your thread, I just wanted to say I hope you and your family are doing well and have not been affected by hate crime or Islamophobia.

@AngryBirdsNoMore thank you so much for your kind post ♡

my heart breaks for every single life lost every where in the world, especially the innocent children. and I hate to see division being sown in our society by a certain opportunist politician (but don't want to sully this thread with the mention of that individual and you are right and i don't want to derail this thread).

Oh, gosh, I had no idea it was a potential hornet's nest of a question! Trust me to do that... 😅

That's really interesting, thank you!

And mental note made to Never Mention It Again.